President Trump Reveals Possibility Of Negotiating With Venezuelan Leader Maduro

Most recently, US President Donald Trump. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House/Daniel Torok)

JAKARTA - President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States might open negotiations with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is facing increased pressure from Washington amid increasing US military power in the Caribbean.

This is one of the first possible signs of a path to defuse the increasingly tense situation in the region as the US launched a campaign of deadly attacks on ships suspected of being drug smugglers off the coast of Venezuela and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

"We may have discussions with Maduro, and we'll see," President Trump told reporters on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Florida, before returning to Washington.

"They want to talk," he continued.

However, President Trump did not provide further details on the possibility of negotiations with Maduro, which the US accused of in connection with the illegal drug trade, Maduro denies.

Senior Trump Administration officials held three meetings at the White House last week to discuss options for military operations that may be carried out against Venezuela, including ground attacks in the country, officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

President Trump said on Friday he "almost decided" about Venezuela, hinting that the decision might be taken soon.

Venezuela's Ministry of Communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's latest statement.

Earlier on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would establish a suspected drug organization, Cartel de los Soles, as a "foreign terrorist organization", which makes it a crime for anyone in the US who provides material support to the group.

US officials have accused Cartel de los Soles of collaborating with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, previously designated by Washington as a foreign terrorist organization, of sending illegal narcotics to the US.

The Trump administration accuses the President of Maduro of leading the Cartel de Los Soles, an accusation that the President of Maduro has also denied.

When asked if Foreign Minister Rubio's announcement meant the US could attack Maduro's assets and infrastructure in Venezuela, President Trump said: "It allows us to do that, but we haven't said we will."

When asked what meant Venezuelan President was interested in negotiations, the White House leader, who had canceled diplomatic relations with Venezuela in early October, said he did not know, but added: "I am talking to anyone."

However, President Trump hinted he would continue to pressure the president of Maduro, who has been in power since 2013 and has not been recognized by the US as Venezuela's legitimate president.

"We have stopped drug dealers and drugs from entering our country," he said.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said on Sunday, the US Navy's largest parent chief USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) with 5,000 military personnel and dozens of fighter aircraft on board, along with its combat task force, had been transferred to the Caribbean.

This adds eight warships, one nuclear submarine and an F-35 aircraft that have been sent in advance to the region.

President Trump's comments on possible negotiations surfaced when the Pentagon announced another attack on a ship suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific, in which the Pentagon said three "narcotic terrorists" were killed.

It was the 21st ship attack known to the US military since early September in what it called a justified effort to stop the flow of narcotics into the US. The attack has killed more than 80 people, according to Pentagon data.

Separately, human rights groups, including Amnesty International, denounced the ship's attack as an unlawful illegal killing of civilians, and some US allies have expressed growing concern that Washington may violate international law.

The Trump administration says it has legal authority, with the Department of Justice providing legal opinion confirming the attack, declaring US military personnel carrying out the operation immune to lawsuits.

The White House said the US was at war with drug cartels and courts not needed in armed conflict, while also accusing the Venezuelan government of conspiring with drug dealers, a charge it denies.

Venezuela itself is preparing its defenses if the US attacks.